The evolution of today's smart/green home and office space includes the deployment of solar panels on rooftops, parking covers, and ground setups. In parallel, there is an increasing need to provide high-speed internet access and other wireless communication services (e.g., cellular networks) to these homes, buildings, and user equipments (UEs) within cellular coverage without incurring the cost of extending fiber optic cables or other expensive routing means to end users' locations.
Typical wireless network antennas and other routing equipment takes up valuable, limited space on the tops of towers, buildings, and other structures. The antennas used in this equipment are typically obtrusive and aesthetically undesirable. Part of the reason for their size is due to the frequencies in which they operate, since lower transmission frequencies require larger antennas for optimal signal broadcasting. Modern wireless technology standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) operate in or around 400 megahertz or 700 megahertz. As a result, transmissions in these frequency ranges require considerably large antennas.
As these and other wireless networks proliferate, customers and wireless network providers have felt an increasing need for widespread connection links and an increasing need for space in which to locate the links.